Coursework On Catherine From A View From The Bridge

Catherine is a beautiful seventeen-year-old girl. Having rarely left Brooklyn, she’s extremely na?ve. She finds it hard to stand up to her father character, Eddie, because he’s done so much for her over her life. He’s all that she knows. She tells Rodolpho, “I can tell a block away when he’s blue in his mind and just wants to talk to somebody quiet and nice”. That’s just it. That’s how she sees herself – “quiet and nice.

” That’s who she wants to be.

Out of Miller’s plays we were referred to read and write about a character in his play, “A View from the Bridge”. The setting of the play is Red Hook, New York, where the author himself had grown up. The play focuses on a small family of three and the character who took my attention was Catherine.

Catherine is an orphan who grows up in the care of her motherly aunt, Beatrice, and Beatrice’s husband, Eddie.

She is much-loved by both of them and this may just be the reason of her childlike behavior at the mature age of seventeen years old.

Miller’s play opens on a very light tone as Catherine has just been offered a job indicating her wish to free himself from his uncle’s custody. Miller’s use of the language shows Eddie’s supervision of every move in her life. Eddie, comment on his niece’s appearance, such as, her hair, her “short skirt”, and her high heels which clank, and seems unhappy that she “walks wavy and the heads are turning like windmills” which gives him “the willies”, all are tips which create doubt about the nature of this stifling supervision of the girl.

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Miller’s use of language identifies two facts; that Catherine is childish and weak, and that her uncle develops abnormal love for her, a feel revealed via. Miller’s perfect use of stage directions, “Eddie is pleased then shy about it”, at first created doubt, then later illuminated the readers with additional dialogue that Catherine doesn’t understand that Eddie’s affection towards her is not merely paternal, as she believes, but in reality, this “overprotectiveness” comes from a jealous lover’s heart.

Catherine recognizes that she cannot persuade Eddie to allow her to work, so she chooses to ask her aunt instead when the chance comes. Her childishness is clear when Eddie lets her to begin the job she “runs” and gives him a “hug” like a child would do after hearing good news. She is thrilled and seems to be overlooking how he looks at her with a captivated lover’s eye. He even goes as far as to say “with your hair that way you look like a Madonna, you know that?”

Catherine, who has a big and kind heart, plans on “fixing up the whole house” as soon as she gets her first check. She is innocent, and she finds it hard to deny Eddie’s harsh and jealous demands. It is as if she is creeping around him just to make sure he doesn’t turn out to be angry with her. Miller’s sneaky style shows that Catherine’s attitude only uplifts and increases his chances to intrude into her na?ve heart.

Miller’s use of language reveals that, Beatrice understands how strangely Eddie loves Katie, and recognize the sort of love he directs discretely at his childish na?ve niece. Catherine’s actions towards Eddie are innocent, but very infatuating, as shown in her hugs, her walking around in just a slip, and sitting in the rest room with him while he is naked except his underwear, thus showing clear unawareness and weird intimacy.

Miller’s craft make the action take a gradual turn at the arrival of Marco and his younger brother Rodolpho into Eddie and Beatrice’ home, the volte in the is related to how much Catherine is attracted to the gorgeous Rodolpho when she lays eyes on him and Eddie, who become alert of this, takes an instant disliking towards Rodolpho. He puts on a hostile front which Miller’s use of stage direction stage direction, reveal in “He comes more and more to address Marco only”. As if quiet intolerant of his pussy cat’s interaction with the intruder Rodolpho.

Rodolpho’s appearance in the play is the stimulant that helps for Catherine to come across her true self and to finally break out of her shell. Rodolpho isn’t just attractive, he is clever, genuine, and hilarious which swept her off her feet and unleashed her tongue and with no embarrassment asked him, “Are you married?” his merry reply “oh no, I have a nice face but no money” which further boosts an excited and inquisitive Catherine to flirt with him, “How come he is dark and you are white?” all such tips quite Eddie’s jealousy.

Miller’s structure created leas development in Catherine’s character as well as in the action as the readers soon feels more conflicts between Eddie in one side and with his wife who seems pleased with this new contact. Catherine slowly sees how much Eddie fend off Rodolpho and she recognizes she must change her behavior with her uncle. For the first time on her life, she starts to freely rebel against him. It is no amazement that when her uncle objects of Rodolpho’s singing of “Paper Doll”, she confidently yells out, “Let him finish it! It’s beautiful.” She goes on to justify herself to her aunt, “He’s terrific” and even to Rodolpho himself, “It’s terrific Rodolpho.” Catherine’s womanhood and mindset therefore begin to develop as she happily accepts Rodolpho’s comment on Eddie when Eddie insults her with “Garbo” saying girls like to copy actresses and specifically Catherine, “Especially when they are so beautiful!” stating his opinion about Catherine’s beauty.

Miller made Catherine’s whole development both rapid and gradual depending on the situation. For instance, in paramount scenes, she answers Eddie’s question “with an edge of anger”, almost as if she is just realizing how jealous he is of Rodolpho. Catherine’s love towards Rodolpho is the catalyst that ensured great changes in the in the action as well as the characters as Catherine now is more confident than she used to be. She out rightly asks Eddie questions such as, “Why don’t you talk to him, Eddie? He blesses and you don’t talk to him hardly.”

Miller’s use of language shows that Catherine is now sure that her uncle’s overprotection spring from her abnormal jealousy about her, assures Eddie about her love for Rodolpho “while holding her ground”.

The use of the language shows that Catherine’s now mature mindset, made her capable to reject all of Eddie’s trials of staining Rodolpho’s reputation. She closes her mind to his claims which he cannot back up with evidence, like “He is only bowing to his passport”, “He marries you, and he’s got the right to be American. You marry him and the next you see him it’ll be for divorce!” to all of these worthless accusations her response was, “I don’t believe it!”

Miller’s use of language verifies that she is still confused about what to do, being an obedient daughter who wants to earn the blessing of a father figure if she goes on to marry the love of her life.

Miller’s structure made Beatrice, Catherine’s maternal aunt have a clear contribution in Catherine’s new image after confronting her with her share in the tragedy they are living now. She blamed her childish conduct posing a grave question, “Don’t tell me you don’t know, you’re not a baby anymore. What are you going to do with yourself?” Even though Catherine has most probably understood this by now, Beatrice jog her niece’s memory gently that if she always tries to give pleasure to Eddie, she might as well be an old maid. Beatrice tells her sincerely, “You’re a grown woman and you’re in and you’re in the same house with a grown man. So you will act differently now.” This sympathetic advice is taken into account by Catherine as she feels the honesty of her dear aunt. “Just give him time to understand, you don’t have to fight, you’re just- you’re a woman that’s all, and you got a nice boy, and now the time came to say goodbye, all right?”

Miller made this intimate conversation between Beatrice and her pretty niece a bench mark for soon, we can see that Catherine has bloomed into a smart and rational young woman in the chair lifting scene, for she expresses her admiration for Rodolpho openly and she defies Eddie, “now Catherine gets up and puts a record on the phonograph”, “Flushed with revolt,” she asks Rodolpho, “You wanna dance Rodolpho?” and is able of coming to his defense on Eddie’s mocking comments like, “It’s wonderful. He sings cooks, and could make dresses…..” and strongly reassures him that “talented people like her Rodolpho get high pay them guys. The head chefs in all the big hotels are men.”

Miller’s use of language made us aware of the contrast between a shy and childish Catherine and the independent, bold and mature Catherine. Catherine faces a dilemma here, where she is caught between her love for Rodolpho and her fondness for her uncle who remained as her father for many years. In her own words. “Do you think it’s so easy to turn around and say to man he’s nothing to you anymore?” thus proving her confused state of mind and heart which Rodolpho’s words soon adjusted by his sincere trial to make her realise.

The variances between Eddie’s strange fascination for her and any father’s paternal love towards his daughter. Miller’s use of language compares her to bird in a cage if she proceeds to be ordered by her uncle to achieve his wishes, she will remain in his custody, an assessment which sank deep in her mind and heart and made her give him her virginity.

When a drunk Eddie finds Catherine and Rodolpho together he was outraged and kicked Rodolpho out. “Pack it up”, “Go ahead. Get your stuff and get outta here!” Catherine speedily makes up her mind to go with the love of her life, “I think I can stay here no more”, she says as bravely as she can muster, “Eddie, I’m not going to be a baby anymore” when her “Uncle”, kisses her on the mouth. Catherine most likely feels utter revulsion and shock as she finds out that Eddie has finally expressed some of his repulsive desire for her.

Miller creates new conflicts in the action as Eddie betrays the two brothers, Marco and Rodolpho, and gives them up to the police. Catherine, who is still taken aback, “stands a moment staring at her uncle in in a realised horror” but seems to have a achieved more maturity, for soon she decides to marry Rodolpho whether Eddie agrees or not, for her Eddie is just a snitch who betrayed his extended family calling him “A rat! He belongs in the sewer! He bites people when they sleep!” shocking the reader with the intensity of her language. Yet her aunt’s simple comment, “then we all belong in the garbage, you and me too. Don’t say that, whatever happened we all done it and don’t ever forget it Catherine”, was in fact right. Deep down, Catherine feels she too is responsible for the chaotic events that happened and reassures Eddie as he dies, “I never meant to do nothing bad to you”.

Catherine’s character Developed significantly throughout the play as the events of the play progressed. At the beginning, we saw her as a babyish girl who is quite unaware of her reactions. Ultimately, as a result of Rodolpho’s preaching, we see an emancipated, strong young woman who asks her lover to “hold me….teach me”, straight away into the bedroom. The play finishes off with Catherine as a sad bride who has turned aggressively against her uncle who passed away in front of her eyes with embarrassment that he has brought all upon himself because he loved her and she was so ignorant that she was encouraging his behavior and this is something else she blames herself for.